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Indian Bay-leaf (Cinnamomum tamala [Buch.-Ham.] Nees et Eberm.)

Synonyms

botanicalCinnamomum tejpata
Bengaliতেজপাত
Tejpat
Bodoथेफात
Thefat
BurmeseThitchabo
Chakma𑄖𑄬𑄎𑄴𑄛𑄘
Tejpada
Chinese
(Mandarin)
柴桂 [chái guì]
Chai gui
DanishIndisk Laurbærblad
Dogriतेजपत
Tejpat
EsperantoHinda cinamomo
EstonianMalabari
FinnishKanelilaakeri
FrenchLaurier des Indes
GermanIndisches Lorbeerblatt, Mutterzimt
Greek (Old)Μαλαβάθρον
Malabathron
Gujaratiતમાલ પત્ર
Tamal patr
Hindiतेज पत्ता, तेजपत
Tej-patta, Tejpat
HungarianIndiai babérlevél
Japaneseタマラ肉桂
タマラニッケイ, テジパット
Tamara-nikkei, Tejipatto
KannadaPatraka
Kashmiriتیج پتہ
Tej Pata
KhasiLatyrpad
LatinMalabathrum
LithuanianIndinis cinamonas, Indiški lauro lapai
Maithiliपत्रक
Patrak
Malayalamഇടനയില, കറുവപ്പട്ട ഇല, വഴന
Itanayila, Karuvappatta-ila, Valana, Vazhana
Manipuri (Meitei-Lon)তেজবতা
ꯇꯦꯖꯕꯇꯥ
Tejbata
Marathiतमाल पत्र
Tamal patra
Naga (Angami)Patta
Naga (Ao)Sünjshe
Naga (Chakhesang-Chokri)Thime
Nepaliतेजपत्ता, शिसि, सिनकाुली
Tejpatta, Sisi, Sinkauli
Newari
(Nepalbhasa)
तेज पत्ता
Tejpat
Oriyaତେଜପତ୍ର
Tejpatra
Punjabiਤੇਜਪਤਾ, ਤੇਜ਼ਪੱਤਾ
Tejpata, Tezpatta
RussianМалабарская корица
Malabarskaya koritsa
SanskritTejapatra
Tamilதாளிசபத்திரி, இலவங்கபத்திரி, பட்டை
Talishapattiri, Ilavangapattiri, Pattai
TeluguPatta akulu, Talisha
Thaiอบเชยต้น
Ob choey tan
Urduتیز پات
Tez pat
Cinnamomum tamala: Indian bay (malabathrum, malobathrum, tejpat)
Indian bay leaves
Cinnamomum tamala: Unripe fruits of Indian Bay
Unripe fruits sometimes appear in commercially sold Indian Bay-leaves
Used plant part

Leaves. The bark may be used as an inferior sub­stitute of cinna­mon or cassia.

Plant family

Laur­aceae (laurel family).

Sensory quality

Strongly aromatic, somewhat re­minis­cent of cinn­amon or cloves. Since Indian bay leaves come usually from wild or semi-cultivated plants, flavour and intensity are quite variable.

Main constituents

In the essential oil from the leaves, mostly monoterpenoides were found: Linalool (50%) is the major compound, whereas α‑pinene, p‑cymene, β‑pinene and limonene range around 5 to 10% each. Phenylpropanoids appear only in traces: Newer work reports 1% cinnamic aldehyde and no eugenol, whereas older literature speaks of traces of both compounds.

Origin

South slopes of the Hima­layas and the moun­tains of North Eastern India, ex­tending into Burma. The main pro­duction areas are Nepal and Sikkim, but most of the harvest comes from wild or half-domesticated trees.

Cinnamomum tamala: Indonesian bay leaves (tejpat) on a Manipuri market
Indonesian bay-leaves on a market
Cinnamomum tamala: Indian bay leaf inflorescence
Indian bay leaf flower cluster
Etymology

The Sanskrit name tamala­pattra [तमालपत्त्र] means dark leaf, although that seems poorly moti­vated.

Greek traders took that name to their own language, but falsely identified the Sanskrit word as a plural form with definite article, (ta) malabathra [(τὰ) μαλαβάθρα] for which they backformed a singular (to) malabathron [(τὸ) μαλαβάθρον]. This name was then taken by the Romans as malabathrum or malobathrum.

Many recent languages of Northern India have names for Indian bay-leaf that derive from that Sanskrit term, e. g., Marathi tamal patra [तमाल पत्र]. In Hindi and some related tongues, the spice is known as tejpatta [तेजपत्ता] pun­gent leaf (Urdu tezpat [تیز پات]). Tamil hat probably the best de­scriptive name for this spice: ilavanga­pattiri [இலவங்கபத்திரி] cinnamon leaf.

Selected Links

The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea Malabathrum (bibliomania.com) Sorting Cinnamomum names (www.plantnames.unimelb.edu.au) Wuerzmich.com: Zimtblätter


Cinnamomum tamala: Twig of Indian Laurel
Twig of Indian Bay
Cinnamomum tamala: Flowers of Indian bay leaf (tejpat)
Flowers of Indian bay leaf
The Indian bay-leaves are the foliage of a tree closely related to cinnamon. The tough, three-veined leaves are very popular in Northern India, but are little known else­where — at least, today. They were well known to the Romans under the name malo­bathrum (also spelt mala­bathrum) and used both for perfumery and in cooking; in recipes, they were often just referred to as folia leaves, which some cookbook editions misrender as bay leaves. See also silphion for the flavours of ancient Rome.

Indian bay leaves might still have been available during the early Middle Ages; some medieval recipes for beer brewing mention folia, but the identi­fication is really unclear (see gale). In any case, at some point of time between late antiquite and High Middle Ages, they fell victim to the multitude of new spices then available, and were for­gotten. They were re­dis­covered only in the Age of Ex­ploration, when Western scholars for the first time arrived in India and studied its products. In the 16.th century, Garcia de Orta encountered the leaves while travelling in India and identified them with the spice known only from ancient records.

Today, Indian bay-leaves are a spice used almost exclu­sively in the kitchens of North­ern India, especially in the famous Moghul cuisine that was deve­loped at the Imperial courts in Delhi and Agra. In ac­cor­dance with the origins of the Moghul dynasty, Moghul cooking contains ele­ments derived from Arabic and Persian cooking. This culinary style aims at a com­plexity and per­fection com­parable to the archi­tectonic beauty of the Taj Mahal, which was built in the same era.

Cinnamomum tamala: Indian Bay-Leaf (tejpatta), flowers
Flowers of Indian Bay leaf
Cinnamomum tamala: Indian Bay-Leaf (tejpat), flowers
Flowering twig of Indian Bay leaf
Cinnamomum tamala: Indonesian laurel tree
Tree of Indian bay-leaf

In Moghul cooking style, much use is made of sweet and aromatic spices; besides Indian bay leaves, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom are con­sidered the most im­por­tant spices for deli­cious rice dishes (biryani [बिरयानी]). Further­more, Moghul cuisine is characterized by rather small chile usage (contrasting habits in the rest of India); cumin, which is a most popular spice all over India, is frequently substituted by a closely related, but culinarily different, plant known as black cumin (see there for a fuller account on moghul cuisine).

Indian bay leaves are found not only in biryanis, but also in Moghul kormas, for which today the North­ern Indian city of Lucknow is famous. To make korma, meat (or oc­casio­nally veg­etable) is slowly but for long time braised in a rich, fragrant sauce thickened with ground almonds; often, the cooking pots are sealed to avoid any loss of aroma. Indian bay-leaves also form part of the Northern Indian spice mixture garam masala (see cumin), which is almost the only time when they are used in ground form.

In the every­day cooking of North­ern India, Indian bay-leaves are one of the most com­mon spices, and even more widely used than most other aro­matic spices. They ap­pear in almost every slow-cooked food of the North and are par­ticu­larly loved in Muslim-style meat curries. In South India, they are much less known; some­times, they get replaced by similar leaves like cinnamon or allspice, but this is not standard.

Indian bay-leaves are very popular in the Terai plains of South­ern Nepal. Cooking in the Tarai is basically a mild version of North Indian cuisine, and Indian bay­leaves are a key flavour to the many veg­etarian curries of that area, par­ticu­larly the Mithila region around Janak­pur. I found the highest con­cen­tra­tion of them in potato curries. The Indian Bay-leaves are also known and used in the moun­tains of North-Eastern India, bordering Burma. There, they are often sold fresh.

Since Indian bay leaves were hardly available in the West bevor the turn of the millennium, most older books encourage the use of laurel (the Mediterranean bay leaf) instead. Though looking similar, the taste is very different, and also weaker. The best substitutes are cinnamon leaves or fresh cardamom leaves, but these are also not easy to come by. I prefer the South American boldo leaves: although their flavour is rather different, it is at least strong enough for the highly spiced Moghul foods. Easier and still satisfactory substitutes are a small piece of cinnamon bark or a dried allspice berry.



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